RJ01 - Reflective Journal Entry 1 - Due Saturday, Jan 30, 2010
Reflect some of the ways that you want to assess your students, i.e. monitor whether they are understanding what you're teaching.
Describe your (or your CT's) grading policy, i.e. how you will assign scores to represent performance. Explain why you are using this method. If you are continuing your CT's grading policy, explain what you feel are some of its strengths and weaknesses.
Use the template "EDC 484 RJ - Assessment and Grading".
We will use your goals to investigate grading on this Tuesday.
Name: Jillian Boisse
I am currently at Westerly Middle School with a 7/8 grade split class. My CT records her grades first on hard copy, and then into a computer software program the school requires. She keeps a paper record for easier access. All of my CT's assessments are graded and based on the number of earned points to total points ratio. My CT weighs quizzes and homeworks based on the amount of content and effort required. My CT almost always offers the option of an alternative assessment which is usually a little project that students can do to get some extra points added to their final grade. I am still unsure of how she exactly assigns points but will try to grasp that this week.
I will continue this method because the students are used to this method and I think it will be helpful if I have any questions, that my CT will be able to assist me. I will be assessing students at the start of each class with a Science Starter which consists of a couple of short questions or exercises. They will be expected to come into class and take out their Science Starter sheet and answer the questions. These sheets will be collected weekly and graded out of 10 points or so. Other methods of assessing will include quizzes, closing activities [exit slips], lab data/questions, homework reading strategy organizers, and even a Socratic seminar at the end of this chapter [in place of an exam].
Reflect some of the ways that you want to assess your students, i.e. monitor whether they are understanding what you're teaching.
Describe your (or your CT's) grading policy, i.e. how you will assign scores to represent performance. Explain why you are using this method. If you are continuing your CT's grading policy, explain what you feel are some of its strengths and weaknesses.
My Own Style of Assessment
Variety is my flavor for assessment! I believe in giving students many opportunities to succeed using variety of methods including both formative and summative assessments. I believe all students have different learning styles and needs which ultimately may require an array of assessment styles. For example, where one student make score poorly on an exam although he/she may know the material because of test anxiety, they deserve another opportunity to succeed.
Formative assessments will include asking students questions during lectures and labs that requires students to analyze, make inferences and evalute material in which we are covering. I plan to also ask students to apply concepts they learn about in the classroom to situations or real world context. In addition, I will allow the opportunity for peer-tutoring where I will ask students to become experts in topic or chapter section and be responsible for teaching the classmates or peers by creating a skit or mini-presentation to teach the concept. Furthermore, I will use the first few minutes of class to ask them review questions based on the previous class' lesson or having a group discussion post lesson.
For formative assessments, I will loosly follow my ct's grading scheme which appears to work. One of my reasons for this is that I do not want to creat adversity during the middle of the year and have students in a panic because a new teacher comes in and completely changes everything they have been accustomed too. I have an entire career to do it my way but for now, I will keep the peace and utilze his grading policy (see below). The assessments incude a combination of journal entries, quizes, quarter projects, tests, papers and labs/activities.
CT's Grading Policy
My CT grading policy is as followed:
20% Homework and Classwork (Includes activities, labs, work sheets)
20% Quizes
50% Tests and Projects
10% Journal Entries
As far as homework, if he assigns a homework (Ex. Finish lab, read and outline chapter, read article/reponse) he will not collect the homework but rather go around to each table and mark it off out of 0-5 where 5 is the highest if the homework is complete and 3 if there are some things missing and 0 if it was not turned in. If someone does not have it at the beginning of class, then they get a zero. If the student was absent, they have the opportunity to pass it in the next class.
For Classwork, he typically does not collect these either but wil use the same method. This is one thing that I will do differently as I believe in collecting them to read over, offering feedback and using the student performance as indicators as to whether they understand or not. For the 2 in class activities, I have collected them already.
For Quizes, he typically will give a quiz when the unit is rather long and must have an assessment mid-way through or if there is an important concept that the students absolutey need to grasp before the exam or if he assigns a reading and needs to make sure they actually read it. Often times, he will count in class projects as "quiz grades".
The Tests are always at the end of a unit and typically consists of multiple choice and short answer. The will typicaly have students do one in class project per unit and at least 1 quarter project that will be a take-home assignment due at least 4 weeks after assignment.
The journal entries are graded for one time for every five entries. He will randomly pick one journal entry out of the five to grade and assess a score 1-5 where 5 is the best. I will read all journal assignments and give an overall grade as an alternative way of grading.
Looking at his grading policy, clearly this is an effort-based assessment policy as 1/2 of a students grade is based on participation and turning in assignments. This gives students the opportunity to succeed even if they do not do so hot on exams. However, If i was to change the weight of each assignments, I would probably make quizes weight more than homework assignments and have the class activities in a seperate catagories. It may look something like this:
Reflect some of the ways that you want to assess your students, i.e. monitor whether they are understanding what you're teaching.
Describe your (or your CT's) grading policy, i.e. how you will assign scores to represent performance. Explain why you are using this method. If you are continuing your CT's grading policy, explain what you feel are some of its strengths and weaknesses.
My CT's grading policy: My CT uses the straight point system for grading.
Homework 5 pts each
Quizzes 50 pts each
Tests 100 pts each
Writing 100 pts total
Add Total Points
--------------------------- = grade
Possible pts
I am going to continue using my CT's grading policy because I think it is a fair grading system that students can understand, and I can easily use to calculate grades. I also feel that it is a good grading system because it takes all aspects of the class into account, giving students the opportunity to be assessed in multiple ways and to earn the grade they deserve. In addition to just giving grades and points to students I think it is crucial to gauge their understanding by providing students feedback to improve grades and understanding. Also students need a chance to make mistakes without bombing their grades, for example: homework normally is just for completion, giving students the chance to make mistakes and ask questions without being penalized for incorrect answers.
Reflect some of the ways that you want to assess your students, i.e. monitor whether they are understanding what you're teaching.
Describe your (or your CT's) grading policy, i.e. how you will assign scores to represent performance. Explain why you are using this method. If you are continuing your CT's grading policy, explain what you feel are some of its strengths and weaknesses.
I feel that as a future teacher I need to start assessing my students in a variety of different ways. Allowing them time to ask questions in between discussion topics is a great way to see what my students are understanding and what they are having trouble with. I believe that reinforcement and study guides that go along with the chapters are also great ways to assess whether students are making connections between information. Reinforcement & Study Guides allow students a chance to recall the "important" concepts that were taught and then apply what they learned to solve open-ended, short answer, fill in the blank, T/F, and/or multiple choice questions. Giving your students the opportunity to complete these worksheets and then going over them as a class (or collecting them at the end of the period) you can see which students are struggling to understand information. What I have learned through my observations is that you can't leave any one student that is confused behind, you need to stop and take the time to go over the material until they get it. If you continue with your lesson that student will just fall further and further behind, until eventually he/she just gives up and stops trying all together.
My CT has told me that she likes to have ATLEAST 25 different types of assessments per quarter, including HW, tests, labs, etc. Grades are always confidential and she runs a very open classroom where students are encouraged to ask questions on why they received less credit for an assignment or assessment then they thought. Late HW is counted as a 0 in her gradebook, however, if by the end of the marking period a student is close to a higher grade she will give them the points for the late assignments in order for them to earn the higher grade. This is only if they MAKE-UP the work! If students do not make up the work it remains a 0. I believe that there are a lot of strengths to my CT's grading policy, one of which is that it gives the students a chance to make up their work and also get credit for doing so. One weakness that I think this also brings is that students ONLY get credit for their made up assignments if it were to "bump them up" to a higher grade. So if a student is not "on the border" of getting a higher grade, its like they made their work up for nothing (which is not only annoying, but tedious for students).
Reflect some of the ways that you want to assess your students, i.e. monitor whether they are understanding what you're teaching.
Describe your (or your CT's) grading policy, i.e. how you will assign scores to represent performance. Explain why you are using this method. If you are continuing your CT's grading policy, explain what you feel are some of its strengths and weaknesses.
In regards to assessing my students, I would like to assess them with regular formative assessments, as well as summative assessments such as tests, quizzes and projects. To assess whether or not the students are understanding me after every class, I plan on giving them a task or challenge to complete. I also plan on giving them a reflection to think about at night to refresh their memory on what we focused on during the day. Participation is and important part of my grading because if the students do not participate then they are not likely to grasp the concepts that we are learning in class. I plan to assess students with a project each quarter, a test or quiz after every unit.
My CTs grading policy is as follows:
Daily Work - 30%
Work done and finsihed in class
being perpared
independent work
group work
Notebook - 12.5%
Pages are numbered and dated
Pages are complete
Pages are in order
Lab Report - 12.5%
Score based on rubric
Quiz/Tests - 30%
Projects - 15%
Project based on rubric
Homework is no longer counted for a grade in our class as it seemed to be hurting students averages more than helping. Only 37% of students attempted all of the assigned science homework during the second quarter. Of the students who did not do homework over 1/3 of them did it 50% or less. 82% of students have attempted 50% or les of all assigned science homework have a failing average for second quarter. Rather than penalizing the students for not completing homework, we will be rewarding them for completing it. Homework is no longer called homework but rather a daily reflection.
Reflect some of the ways that you want to assess your students, i.e. monitor whether they are understanding what you're teaching.
Describe your (or your CT's) grading policy, i.e. how you will assign scores to represent performance. Explain why you are using this method. If you are continuing your CT's grading policy, explain what you feel are some of its strengths and weaknesses.
The students can usually expect a short quiz at the end of each week. These quizzes are helpful in quickly assessing what students understand from that week's instruction, and what topics were unclear and need to be re-addressed. Students are given homework assignments at least 4 days out of the week. Homeworks are checked for completion, and if completed on they are worth 10 points a piece. Late homework assignments are still accepted, yet, students are aware that they will not receive full credit. Students are also assigned "Big Book Pages" after each major piece of a unit. These assignments are large pieces of construction paper, which the students format to look like pages from large books. On each page students explain the different topics which they just finished learning about, using short descriptions and illustrations. For example the most recent assignment came after the completion of the space unit. The Big Book pages covered, the phases of the moon, and the different types of eclipses. Once complete these pages are kept in the classroom to form a "Big Book" at the end of the year. The "Big Book" is meant to be used as a study tool for the NECAP exams students take in 8th grade. Students are also assigned small creative projects randomly such as the "Planet Brochure" they created recently, in the format of a travel brochure. Student lab work is also graded, and depending on the intensity of the lab can be either checked for completion or scored. Students have a large unit test twice a year, once at the end of the Earth and Space Unit, and another at the end of the Organisms unit in the Spring. These tests are formatted to appear as questions and situations students may see on the NECAP exam. Each unit test is comprised of a written and practical part, and spans 2 days.
I feel as though this grading method is ideal for middle school students. It is important to encourage students to finish work even if late, especially at the middle school level. It shows that their effort, although not as much as it should have been, is still appreciated. Yet, because late homework does not receive full credit students are well aware that it counts and getting it in on time is ideal. This policy may not work for high school students who should be expected to get work in on time, and should have a much more developed sense of responsibility.
Although some assignments are NECAP based, they are focused on the test taking skills students should develop in order to be successful on these exams. The "Big Book Pages" are also a great way to allow students to be creative, yet serve a purpose in providing students with a set of study guides, necessary because of the time between 7th grade science and the 8th grade NECAP.
Reflect some of the ways that you want to assess your students, i.e. monitor whether they are understanding what you're teaching.
Describe your (or your CT's) grading policy, i.e. how you will assign scores to represent performance. Explain why you are using this method. If you are continuing your CT's grading policy, explain what you feel are some of its strengths and weaknesses.
Narragansett Peir Middle School uses a program called Power School for teachers to record grades, and students and parents to view their grades. My CT records her grades first on hard copy, then in the computer. She keeps a paper record in case the system is down, and to keep track of such things as missing assignments. All of my CT's assessments are graded based on an earn points to total points ratio. Her final grades are determined in the same manner. She does not weigh assessments based on percentages. Her homework assignments are usually out of 5 points while quizzes can range from 20-70 points based on their size and content. If her students had trouble on a particular test, she will give them an easy ten point quiz to help them bring their grade up. My CT also does not count class participate. However, she does take it into account when determining whether or not to bump a students up from a C+ to a B-, for example. I will be continuing this grading policy during my student teaching, mainly because my teacher has been doing it this way the entire year, and the students are used to it. I actually feel this is a good grading policy. I am not a fan of weighing everything based on percentages. It creates a lot of unnecessary extra work. You end up doing the same thing, when you assign different types of assignments different point values. I feel that this way is also good when grades need to be "tweaked". It is convenient for adding in extra points.
I will assess my students in the same ways that my CT does. I will monitor their understanding through class discussions, and little formative assessments such as homework and classwork. I will also use informal assessment strategies during labs and activities to assess their understanding. I will walk around to the students and ask them questions and monitor their work to determine their levels of understanding.
RJ01 - Reflective Journal Entry 1 - Due Saturday, Jan 30, 2010
Reflect some of the ways that you want to assess your students, i.e. monitor whether they are understanding what you're teaching.
Describe your (or your CT's) grading policy, i.e. how you will assign scores to represent performance. Explain why you are using this method. If you are continuing your CT's grading policy, explain what you feel are some of its strengths and weaknesses.
Use the template "EDC 484 RJ - Assessment and Grading".
We will use your goals to investigate grading on this Tuesday.
Reflection:
Some ways that I want to assess my students are through both formal and informal assessments. For example, some formal assessments I plan on using are tests, quizzes, projects, and lab reports. Some informal assessments I plan on using are opening prompt questions (where students have to write brief responses on a piece of paper), pre-tests before we start new material, and asking good guiding questions to get a handle on what and how the students are understanding the material.
I am continuing using my CT's grading policy because everyone in the department must use the same grading policy, that was pre-determined at the beginning of the year. The grading policy is passed out along with the syllabus at the beginning of the year.
Ms. Parvo's (Earth Science) Grading Policy is as follows:
Homework/Daily class participation: 35%
Graded Assignments (quizzes, tests, projects, etc.): 45%
The other 20% is the quarter's "anchor assignment", which is a project decided upon by all the Earth Science teachers and the department head that all the students must complete, with a common rubric and requirements.
Mrs. Bowers (Biology) Grading Policy is as follows:
Homework and class grade (participation and classroom behavior): 50%
Labs, current events/news, quizzes, tests and projects: 50%
Both teachers give ways that students can improve their grade. The students have 5 days to make corrections to their work, then they must make an appointment after school and bring the material they wish to improve. The students must make corrections to their work and explain why they made that error in thinking and write the correct answer. After the students turn in their original work and the corrections, the students will earn a portion of the points lost on the assignment.
I think that some of the strengths of my CTs grading policy is how the students can improve their grade. This policy is passed out at the beginning on the semester, along with the syllabus. Both teachers remind students of how they can improve their grades after they hand back each assignment, to remind students of this opportunity. I will probably use something like this when I have my own classroom. One of the weaknesses of my CTs grading policy, is that they don't say exactly how much tests and quizzes exactly count for. They both just lump the quizzes, tests, and other formal assessments into one category that accounts for a percentage of their grade.
I hope to incorporate many different evaluation strategies for my students. My goal is to link my evaluation strategies with the auditory, visual, and tactile modalities of learning. In addition to evaluating students via written tests and handouts for homework, I will also evaluate student understanding though lab practicals that allow students to demonstrate their understanding of application. I will also have the students work on independent projects that allow them to think outside the box (Using a video recorder, create a film that describes transcription of DNA, using any analogies you like).
During the quarter, the students will take two tests. Each test is one sixth of their final mark. The students will be evaluated on completed homework, which will be one sixth of their final mark.The students will conduct four investigative laboratory exercises and hand in respective lab reports. The lab reports will collectively be a third of the final mark. The students will also conduct an independent project of their choice, which will be one sixth of their final mark.
Based on outline above, I would like half of the final mark to be related to hands-on investigations (laboratory exercises and independent project). These exercises build on the students visual and tactile modalities of learning as well as critical thinking skills. I would like the hands on investigations and homework to be two-thirds of the final mark.
My coordinating teacher has a similar policy. A positive is that her curriculum is heavily focused on hands-on activities of application and critical thinking. A negative may be that the students may need more practice in taking tests, since that is how they will be evaluated by the state (NECAP).
Reflect some of the ways that you want to assess your students, i.e. monitor whether they are understanding what you're teaching.
Describe your (or your CT's) grading policy, i.e. how you will assign scores to represent performance. Explain why you are using this method. If you are continuing your CT's grading policy, explain what you feel are some of its strengths and weaknesses.
There are many ways in which I plan to assess my students understanding of the material. I plan on doing a lot of example problems and group work to help the students to work on critical thinking and problem solving. I also plan on using questioning and getting the students to come to the board and work out problems. When doing example problems with the class I am hoping to get the students to lead some examples with a little guidance when needed. I will also be doing online labs and regular labs to assess understanding.
My CT's grading policy is that 50% of the quarter grade is quizzes and tests combined while the other 50% is everything else (homework, classwork, lab reports, projects, etc.). My CT uses a stamping system with classwork and some homework; in this system each assignment is given a stamp requirement and when each part is due the teacher stamps them for completion. The assignments are not graded till the day before the exam when the students hand in an assignment sheets with all of the assignment in the unit. They are then graded and points are given for correctness and also completion based on whether or not the student got the assignment stamped. I will be taking over for my CT till mid May so I will be using this stamping system. Some strengths of this system are that students get points just for attempting to do the work and also the students that may have forgotten to do the assignment that night can finish it before the exam and get partial credit. The major weakness that I see is that many of the students are not very organized and sometimes lose some of the sheets because they are all collected at the beginning of the exam.
RJ01 - Reflective Journal Entry 1 - Due Saturday, Jan 30, 2010
Name: Jillian Boisse
I am currently at Westerly Middle School with a 7/8 grade split class. My CT records her grades first on hard copy, and then into a computer software program the school requires. She keeps a paper record for easier access. All of my CT's assessments are graded and based on the number of earned points to total points ratio. My CT weighs quizzes and homeworks based on the amount of content and effort required. My CT almost always offers the option of an alternative assessment which is usually a little project that students can do to get some extra points added to their final grade. I am still unsure of how she exactly assigns points but will try to grasp that this week.
I will continue this method because the students are used to this method and I think it will be helpful if I have any questions, that my CT will be able to assist me. I will be assessing students at the start of each class with a Science Starter which consists of a couple of short questions or exercises. They will be expected to come into class and take out their Science Starter sheet and answer the questions. These sheets will be collected weekly and graded out of 10 points or so. Other methods of assessing will include quizzes, closing activities [exit slips], lab data/questions, homework reading strategy organizers, and even a Socratic seminar at the end of this chapter [in place of an exam].
Journal Entry: Assessment and Grading
Name: Ashley E. BordenMy Own Style of Assessment
Variety is my flavor for assessment! I believe in giving students many opportunities to succeed using variety of methods including both formative and summative assessments. I believe all students have different learning styles and needs which ultimately may require an array of assessment styles. For example, where one student make score poorly on an exam although he/she may know the material because of test anxiety, they deserve another opportunity to succeed.
Formative assessments will include asking students questions during lectures and labs that requires students to analyze, make inferences and evalute material in which we are covering. I plan to also ask students to apply concepts they learn about in the classroom to situations or real world context. In addition, I will allow the opportunity for peer-tutoring where I will ask students to become experts in topic or chapter section and be responsible for teaching the classmates or peers by creating a skit or mini-presentation to teach the concept. Furthermore, I will use the first few minutes of class to ask them review questions based on the previous class' lesson or having a group discussion post lesson.
For formative assessments, I will loosly follow my ct's grading scheme which appears to work. One of my reasons for this is that I do not want to creat adversity during the middle of the year and have students in a panic because a new teacher comes in and completely changes everything they have been accustomed too. I have an entire career to do it my way but for now, I will keep the peace and utilze his grading policy (see below). The assessments incude a combination of journal entries, quizes, quarter projects, tests, papers and labs/activities.
CT's Grading Policy
My CT grading policy is as followed:
20% Homework and Classwork (Includes activities, labs, work sheets)
20% Quizes
50% Tests and Projects
10% Journal Entries
As far as homework, if he assigns a homework (Ex. Finish lab, read and outline chapter, read article/reponse) he will not collect the homework but rather go around to each table and mark it off out of 0-5 where 5 is the highest if the homework is complete and 3 if there are some things missing and 0 if it was not turned in. If someone does not have it at the beginning of class, then they get a zero. If the student was absent, they have the opportunity to pass it in the next class.
For Classwork, he typically does not collect these either but wil use the same method. This is one thing that I will do differently as I believe in collecting them to read over, offering feedback and using the student performance as indicators as to whether they understand or not. For the 2 in class activities, I have collected them already.
For Quizes, he typically will give a quiz when the unit is rather long and must have an assessment mid-way through or if there is an important concept that the students absolutey need to grasp before the exam or if he assigns a reading and needs to make sure they actually read it. Often times, he will count in class projects as "quiz grades".
The Tests are always at the end of a unit and typically consists of multiple choice and short answer. The will typicaly have students do one in class project per unit and at least 1 quarter project that will be a take-home assignment due at least 4 weeks after assignment.
The journal entries are graded for one time for every five entries. He will randomly pick one journal entry out of the five to grade and assess a score 1-5 where 5 is the best. I will read all journal assignments and give an overall grade as an alternative way of grading.
Looking at his grading policy, clearly this is an effort-based assessment policy as 1/2 of a students grade is based on participation and turning in assignments. This gives students the opportunity to succeed even if they do not do so hot on exams. However, If i was to change the weight of each assignments, I would probably make quizes weight more than homework assignments and have the class activities in a seperate catagories. It may look something like this:
10% Homework
10% Journal Entries
15% Quizes
15% Class Work/Labs/ Activities
50% Tests/Projects
Assessment and Grading
My CT's grading policy: My CT uses the straight point system for grading.
Homework 5 pts each
Quizzes 50 pts each
Tests 100 pts each
Writing 100 pts total
Add Total Points
--------------------------- = grade
Possible pts
I am going to continue using my CT's grading policy because I think it is a fair grading system that students can understand, and I can easily use to calculate grades. I also feel that it is a good grading system because it takes all aspects of the class into account, giving students the opportunity to be assessed in multiple ways and to earn the grade they deserve. In addition to just giving grades and points to students I think it is crucial to gauge their understanding by providing students feedback to improve grades and understanding. Also students need a chance to make mistakes without bombing their grades, for example: homework normally is just for completion, giving students the chance to make mistakes and ask questions without being penalized for incorrect answers.
Journal Entry: Assessment and Grading
Name: Mickey EnnisI feel that as a future teacher I need to start assessing my students in a variety of different ways. Allowing them time to ask questions in between discussion topics is a great way to see what my students are understanding and what they are having trouble with. I believe that reinforcement and study guides that go along with the chapters are also great ways to assess whether students are making connections between information. Reinforcement & Study Guides allow students a chance to recall the "important" concepts that were taught and then apply what they learned to solve open-ended, short answer, fill in the blank, T/F, and/or multiple choice questions. Giving your students the opportunity to complete these worksheets and then going over them as a class (or collecting them at the end of the period) you can see which students are struggling to understand information. What I have learned through my observations is that you can't leave any one student that is confused behind, you need to stop and take the time to go over the material until they get it. If you continue with your lesson that student will just fall further and further behind, until eventually he/she just gives up and stops trying all together.
My CT has told me that she likes to have ATLEAST 25 different types of assessments per quarter, including HW, tests, labs, etc. Grades are always confidential and she runs a very open classroom where students are encouraged to ask questions on why they received less credit for an assignment or assessment then they thought. Late HW is counted as a 0 in her gradebook, however, if by the end of the marking period a student is close to a higher grade she will give them the points for the late assignments in order for them to earn the higher grade. This is only if they MAKE-UP the work! If students do not make up the work it remains a 0. I believe that there are a lot of strengths to my CT's grading policy, one of which is that it gives the students a chance to make up their work and also get credit for doing so. One weakness that I think this also brings is that students ONLY get credit for their made up assignments if it were to "bump them up" to a higher grade. So if a student is not "on the border" of getting a higher grade, its like they made their work up for nothing (which is not only annoying, but tedious for students).
Journal Entry: Assessment and Grading
Name: Jennifer HawkinsIn regards to assessing my students, I would like to assess them with regular formative assessments, as well as summative assessments such as tests, quizzes and projects. To assess whether or not the students are understanding me after every class, I plan on giving them a task or challenge to complete. I also plan on giving them a reflection to think about at night to refresh their memory on what we focused on during the day. Participation is and important part of my grading because if the students do not participate then they are not likely to grasp the concepts that we are learning in class. I plan to assess students with a project each quarter, a test or quiz after every unit.
My CTs grading policy is as follows:
Daily Work - 30%
Notebook - 12.5%
Lab Report - 12.5%
Quiz/Tests - 30%
Projects - 15%
Homework is no longer counted for a grade in our class as it seemed to be hurting students averages more than helping. Only 37% of students attempted all of the assigned science homework during the second quarter. Of the students who did not do homework over 1/3 of them did it 50% or less. 82% of students have attempted 50% or les of all assigned science homework have a failing average for second quarter. Rather than penalizing the students for not completing homework, we will be rewarding them for completing it. Homework is no longer called homework but rather a daily reflection.
Journal Entry: Assessment and Grading
Name: Sarah JakobThe students can usually expect a short quiz at the end of each week. These quizzes are helpful in quickly assessing what students understand from that week's instruction, and what topics were unclear and need to be re-addressed. Students are given homework assignments at least 4 days out of the week. Homeworks are checked for completion, and if completed on they are worth 10 points a piece. Late homework assignments are still accepted, yet, students are aware that they will not receive full credit. Students are also assigned "Big Book Pages" after each major piece of a unit. These assignments are large pieces of construction paper, which the students format to look like pages from large books. On each page students explain the different topics which they just finished learning about, using short descriptions and illustrations. For example the most recent assignment came after the completion of the space unit. The Big Book pages covered, the phases of the moon, and the different types of eclipses. Once complete these pages are kept in the classroom to form a "Big Book" at the end of the year. The "Big Book" is meant to be used as a study tool for the NECAP exams students take in 8th grade. Students are also assigned small creative projects randomly such as the "Planet Brochure" they created recently, in the format of a travel brochure. Student lab work is also graded, and depending on the intensity of the lab can be either checked for completion or scored. Students have a large unit test twice a year, once at the end of the Earth and Space Unit, and another at the end of the Organisms unit in the Spring. These tests are formatted to appear as questions and situations students may see on the NECAP exam. Each unit test is comprised of a written and practical part, and spans 2 days.
I feel as though this grading method is ideal for middle school students. It is important to encourage students to finish work even if late, especially at the middle school level. It shows that their effort, although not as much as it should have been, is still appreciated. Yet, because late homework does not receive full credit students are well aware that it counts and getting it in on time is ideal. This policy may not work for high school students who should be expected to get work in on time, and should have a much more developed sense of responsibility.
Although some assignments are NECAP based, they are focused on the test taking skills students should develop in order to be successful on these exams. The "Big Book Pages" are also a great way to allow students to be creative, yet serve a purpose in providing students with a set of study guides, necessary because of the time between 7th grade science and the 8th grade NECAP.
Journal Entry: Assessment and Grading
Name: Britta Leigh- Reflect some of the ways that you want to assess your students, i.e. monitor whether they are understanding what you're teaching.
- Describe your (or your CT's) grading policy, i.e. how you will assign scores to represent performance. Explain why you are using this method. If you are continuing your CT's grading policy, explain what you feel are some of its strengths and weaknesses.
Narragansett Peir Middle School uses a program called Power School for teachers to record grades, and students and parents to view their grades. My CT records her grades first on hard copy, then in the computer. She keeps a paper record in case the system is down, and to keep track of such things as missing assignments. All of my CT's assessments are graded based on an earn points to total points ratio. Her final grades are determined in the same manner. She does not weigh assessments based on percentages. Her homework assignments are usually out of 5 points while quizzes can range from 20-70 points based on their size and content. If her students had trouble on a particular test, she will give them an easy ten point quiz to help them bring their grade up. My CT also does not count class participate. However, she does take it into account when determining whether or not to bump a students up from a C+ to a B-, for example. I will be continuing this grading policy during my student teaching, mainly because my teacher has been doing it this way the entire year, and the students are used to it. I actually feel this is a good grading policy. I am not a fan of weighing everything based on percentages. It creates a lot of unnecessary extra work. You end up doing the same thing, when you assign different types of assignments different point values. I feel that this way is also good when grades need to be "tweaked". It is convenient for adding in extra points.I will assess my students in the same ways that my CT does. I will monitor their understanding through class discussions, and little formative assessments such as homework and classwork. I will also use informal assessment strategies during labs and activities to assess their understanding. I will walk around to the students and ask them questions and monitor their work to determine their levels of understanding.
RJ01 - Reflective Journal Entry 1 - Due Saturday, Jan 30, 2010
Reflection:
Some ways that I want to assess my students are through both formal and informal assessments. For example, some formal assessments I plan on using are tests, quizzes, projects, and lab reports. Some informal assessments I plan on using are opening prompt questions (where students have to write brief responses on a piece of paper), pre-tests before we start new material, and asking good guiding questions to get a handle on what and how the students are understanding the material.
I am continuing using my CT's grading policy because everyone in the department must use the same grading policy, that was pre-determined at the beginning of the year. The grading policy is passed out along with the syllabus at the beginning of the year.
Ms. Parvo's (Earth Science) Grading Policy is as follows:
Homework/Daily class participation: 35%
Graded Assignments (quizzes, tests, projects, etc.): 45%
The other 20% is the quarter's "anchor assignment", which is a project decided upon by all the Earth Science teachers and the department head that all the students must complete, with a common rubric and requirements.
Mrs. Bowers (Biology) Grading Policy is as follows:
Homework and class grade (participation and classroom behavior): 50%
Labs, current events/news, quizzes, tests and projects: 50%
Both teachers give ways that students can improve their grade. The students have 5 days to make corrections to their work, then they must make an appointment after school and bring the material they wish to improve. The students must make corrections to their work and explain why they made that error in thinking and write the correct answer. After the students turn in their original work and the corrections, the students will earn a portion of the points lost on the assignment.
I think that some of the strengths of my CTs grading policy is how the students can improve their grade. This policy is passed out at the beginning on the semester, along with the syllabus. Both teachers remind students of how they can improve their grades after they hand back each assignment, to remind students of this opportunity. I will probably use something like this when I have my own classroom. One of the weaknesses of my CTs grading policy, is that they don't say exactly how much tests and quizzes exactly count for. They both just lump the quizzes, tests, and other formal assessments into one category that accounts for a percentage of their grade.
Journal Entry: Assessment and Grading
AkashI hope to incorporate many different evaluation strategies for my students. My goal is to link my evaluation strategies with the auditory, visual, and tactile modalities of learning. In addition to evaluating students via written tests and handouts for homework, I will also evaluate student understanding though lab practicals that allow students to demonstrate their understanding of application. I will also have the students work on independent projects that allow them to think outside the box (Using a video recorder, create a film that describes transcription of DNA, using any analogies you like).
During the quarter, the students will take two tests. Each test is one sixth of their final mark. The students will be evaluated on completed homework, which will be one sixth of their final mark.The students will conduct four investigative laboratory exercises and hand in respective lab reports. The lab reports will collectively be a third of the final mark. The students will also conduct an independent project of their choice, which will be one sixth of their final mark.
Based on outline above, I would like half of the final mark to be related to hands-on investigations (laboratory exercises and independent project). These exercises build on the students visual and tactile modalities of learning as well as critical thinking skills. I would like the hands on investigations and homework to be two-thirds of the final mark.
My coordinating teacher has a similar policy. A positive is that her curriculum is heavily focused on hands-on activities of application and critical thinking. A negative may be that the students may need more practice in taking tests, since that is how they will be evaluated by the state (NECAP).
Journal Entry: Assessment and Grading
Name: Mitchell TrainorThere are many ways in which I plan to assess my students understanding of the material. I plan on doing a lot of example problems and group work to help the students to work on critical thinking and problem solving. I also plan on using questioning and getting the students to come to the board and work out problems. When doing example problems with the class I am hoping to get the students to lead some examples with a little guidance when needed. I will also be doing online labs and regular labs to assess understanding.
My CT's grading policy is that 50% of the quarter grade is quizzes and tests combined while the other 50% is everything else (homework, classwork, lab reports, projects, etc.). My CT uses a stamping system with classwork and some homework; in this system each assignment is given a stamp requirement and when each part is due the teacher stamps them for completion. The assignments are not graded till the day before the exam when the students hand in an assignment sheets with all of the assignment in the unit. They are then graded and points are given for correctness and also completion based on whether or not the student got the assignment stamped. I will be taking over for my CT till mid May so I will be using this stamping system. Some strengths of this system are that students get points just for attempting to do the work and also the students that may have forgotten to do the assignment that night can finish it before the exam and get partial credit. The major weakness that I see is that many of the students are not very organized and sometimes lose some of the sheets because they are all collected at the beginning of the exam.